Method of ornamenting strip material



2 Sheets-Sheet INVEN OR ATTORNEY April 19, 1932. G. PRH-OLD METHOD OFORNAMENTING STRIP MATERIAL Filed sept( 21, 1929 mu P. w Q

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April 19, 1932. G. PRIFOLD l METHOD OF ORNAMENTING STRIP MATERIAL FiledSept. 2l, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 QQ INVENTOR C /O/Lg I BY mi ATTORNEYPatented Apr. 19, 1932 UNITED STATES VPATENT corr-lori GEORGE PRIFOLD, FSOMERVILLE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR i130 THE OTT-A-LAPUOM- PENY, 0FSOMERVILLE, -NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION 0F NEW JERSEY METHOD orORNAMENTING STRIP MATERTAL ApplicationA led September 21, 1929. SerialNo. 394,364.

This invention relates to a new strip material for covering floors andother purposes and a method of ornamenting the same.

The invention relates'particularly to strip materials having paintedsurfaces, including those intended for ioor coverings and customarilyknown as linoleum, and also oil cloths and similar materials. Theinvention provides a method of ornamenting strip material of thischaracter thereby producing a new type of decorative surface.

A strip material embodying the invention comprises a body and a layer ofpaint, all or a portion of which consists of two or more paints ofdifferent colors blended together in streaks running lengthwise of thestrip. An important characteristic of the streaked layer of paint isthat the lines of demarcation between different colors are throughoutthe length of the stripparallel to the strip or nearly so. The artisticeffect of the new material is the'result of the fact that, although twoor more colors may be intimately blended together, the surface presentsno blotches such as would ber caused by any lines of demarcationextending transversely of vthe strip. This does not mean that eachstreak `of color necessarily runs the entire length of the strip, butthat any streaks of color which extend less than the whole length ofstrip taper A off into line points to avoid all transverse lines ofdemarcation.

The method of making the new floor covering consists in printing onsuccessive lengths of the strip Va, plurality of dabs or blotches ofcolor surrounded by a base color,

in applying a brush to each length of the strip shortly after. the'colors are printed thereon and while the colors are still wet,

40 and in causing uninterrupted relative movement in thevsame directionbetween the brush y and the strip throughout the combined operation ofprinting and brushing.

The apparatus for carrying out this method includes a brushingattachment readily applicable to a block printing machine of the typecustomarily used in printing iioor coverings and arranged to cause anuninterrupted movement in one direction between the strip and a brush,notwithstanding the intermittent feeding of the strip which `occurs insuch block printing machines. The apparatus for carrying out the methoddisclosed herein is claimed in a divisional application, Serial No.593,894, filed February 18, 1932. f

rPhe accompanying drawings show, necessarily somewhat imperfectly, astrip material embodying the invention, and illustrate a specificembodiment of my apparatus for producing this material. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top view of part of a partiallycompleted strip of floorcovering embodying the invention; v

Fig. 2 is an enlarged partial transverse section of the floor coveringtaken on the right hand end of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partial side elevation of a block printing machine embodyingthe apparatus features of my invention and omitting parts which areunnecessary to an explanation of my invention; and

Figs. 4 and 5 show my brush attachment, Fig. 4 being an enlargedtransverse section on line 4- 4 of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 being a section onthe line 5 5 of Fig. 4.

In Fig. 1 a part of the paintlayer of the floor covering is shown incompleted form at the right. It will be seen that this layer includes amiddle portion having a design 80 printed thereon and two edge portionshaving colors mixed in streaks as heretofore described. The lengths A, Bof the floor covering shown in Fig. 1 show the positions in which thepaint is printed an the edge portions of each length of the fl orcovering before this paint has been streked by the application of abrush. The lengths `C and D in Fig. 1 show the printing of the\`centra1design on the strip before the-paint is applied tothe edge portions ofthe strip.

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 show a machine for vautomatically treating each lengthof a long strip l of material, first, by printing a central de- 95 sign,second, by printing a background and blotches of color on the edgeportions, and third by mixing the colors 'on the edge por-T' tions toproduce the streaked effect, or in other words, by carrying out theprocess il- 100 lustrated in the succbssive lengths of the strip shownin Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 showsa block printing machine of conventional construction. Itisprovided 5 with a bed 10 over which tavel Ifeeding bands 11 forintermittently moving a strip of material along Vthe bed, and with aplurality of printing heads 13. At the right-hand end of the figure isshown the customaryJmechanism for causing the intermittent movementofthe feeding bands 11. This mecha-l nism includes adrum 14 for each and11, carrying a ratchet 15 which is engaged by a pawl 16 oscillated by asegment gear 17 on a l5 pivoted arm 18 which is lifted and allowed tothe follower 19 is ktravelling on the rising face a X- Y of the cam, andremain stationary during the remainder of each revolution of the cam.rl`he printing heads 13 are `operated intermittently by the usual cams22 on crossshafts 23 whose movements are synchronized with those of thecross-shaft 21 of the feeding mechanism' by a longitudinal shaft 24 0which is connected with each of the crossshafts by a gearing of the samegear ratio. The printing heads are held in raised position during themovement of the feeding bands 11 and descend to apply paint from ,theirpainting blocks to the Astrip material Von the bed during the periodswhen the feeding bands 11 are stationary.

In accordance with my invention, one of the printing heads 13a is heldup by means ofV blocks 25, so that it is out of contact with its cam,which may be removed. On the crossbeams 26 of this printing head areclamped' f two frames 27 in which are journalled two cross-shafts 28,29, On the frames 27 are pivots 30 to which are secured the upper endsoftwo arms 31, which-depend between the cross-beams 26 through the spaceordinarily occupied by the printing blocks, which; in this case, areremoved. The arms 31 contain 59 slots 32 into which project crank pins33 on disks 34 xed on the ends of the shaft 29. The lower ends of thearms 31 have a. pin and slot'connection with blocks 35, slidable on rods3.6 carried by frames 37 clamped to the cross-beams 26, and to theseblocks is pivotally attached a brush 38 `havingvseparated sets ofbristles 39. The length of the brush 38 is greater than the distance'between the rods 36 and the bed 10 of the ma- I C3 chine, so that thebristles 39 rest on the strip of material on the bed in an inclinedposition, as shown in Fig. 5. The shaft 29 is driven from the cam-shaft23a associated with the printing head 13a by a-pair of gears C3 40, 41fixed on\the shafts 29, 28 respectively,

The cam ro- 1 and a pair of sprockets 42, 43 fixed n the shaft 28 andits camshaft 23a and connected by a sprocket chain 44. The two gears andthe two sprockets each have a one-to-one ratio, so that Jche rate ofrevolution of the shaft 29 is equal to `that of the cross-shaft 23a andlalso that of the cross-shaft 21. By proper positioning of the partswhen the sprocket chain 44 is applied, the crank pins 33 are placed intheir uppermost positions when the middle point Z of the rising surfaceX^Y of the cam is in engagement with the kover the surface of thematerial during the period that the material is at rest and also duringthe moments when the material starts and stops its movement. This resultis attained because of the fact that the amplitude of the reciprocationof the brush is considerably less than the distance travelled by thematerial atl each movement thereof, the latter being, of course, equalto that between successive printing heads.` Furthermore, the fact thatthe material is moved forward during more than one-half of eachrevolution of the cross-shafts while the\brush is moved backward duringmore than one-half of each such revolution-namelywhile the pins 33 aretraveling from the position 33X to the position 33Y-insures a backwardtravel of the brush during the moments when the material is starting andstopping. The effect of the intermittent movement of the materialcombinedwith the reciprocatory movement of the brush is that there is anuninterrupted relative movement between the br sh and the-material,producing the same effe t as though the brush were continuously drawn ina rearwardlyinclined position from one end of the strip of material toits other end. The continuous relative movement between the material andthe brush in one di- `rection is important, since it secures the deareused to apply to thev edge portions of the strip the paints which are tobe mixed and streaked by the brush which they reach before they have hadtimeto dry.

What l claim is: f

l. lThe method of producing an ornamental vsurface on a strip material,which comprises successivelyl printing on successive lengths of thestrip paints of a plurality of colors, maintaining a brush in contactwith each length of the strip shortly after the colors have been printedthereon and while the paint is still wet, and causing uninterruptedrelative movement in the same direction between the brush and the stripthrough the operation of printing and brushing the entire strip.

2. The method of producing an ornamental surface on a strip material,which consists of intermittently moving the strip,suc cessively printingpaints of a plurality of colors on successive lengths of the stripduring its period of rest, maintaining a brush in contact wit-h eachlength of the strip shortly after the colors have been printed thereonand while the paint is still wet, and causing uninterrupted relativemovement between the brush and the strip throughout the operation ofprinting and brushing the entire strip.

3. In the method of printing, the steps consisting in moving printedmaterial forwardly in a step-by-step manner, moving a brush thereover,and maintaining relative longitudinal movement between the brush and thematerial at all times.

4. In the method of printing, the steps conlsisting in moving printedmaterial forwardly in a step-by-step manner, moving a brush back andforth thereof, and maintaining relative longitudinal movement betweenthe brush and the material at all times.

5. In the method of printing, the steps consisting in moving printedmaterial forward in periods of movement alternated with pe-.

riods of repose, and moving a brush back and forth longitudinally overthe material, the change in direction of movement of the brush occurringduring a period of movement of the materlal.

6. In the method of printing, the steps consisting in moving materialforward in a stepby-step manner and in a definite time cycle, printingon the'- material, and applying a rush to the printed surface, the'brush being moved in a different time cycle.

. In the method of printing, the steps consisting in moving printedmaterial forwardly in a step-by-step manner, moving a blending devicethereover, and maintaining relative longitudinal movement between theinaterial and the blending device at all times.

8. ln the method of printing, the steps consisting in advancing materialin a step-bystep manner, printing thereon in periods of rest so as toproduce a substantially continuously extending printed surface, engaginged surface, engaging such surface with a brush and effectingsubstantially continuous relative movement between the printed materialand the brush while maintaining a substantially constant angularity ofthe brush bristles.

In testimony whereof l have hereunto set my hand.

GEORGE PRIFOLD.

